Falling Skies: Of Insecurities and Brothers
by iDon'tWanaLove
Summary: Part 2 of 4: Sort of another continuation. Hal is still hurt and Ben is taken on a mission, he loses his cool. When Ben snaps out Hal is there to calm him down.


"Weaver, we can't go out there right now! We've lost too many men and Hal is still too injured to even leave the hospital."

"Well we don't really have much of a choice now do we? Dr. Glass needs those drugs and we are getting too low on food! There are civilians counting on you Tom!"

"Who else can i take? I need people i trust out there!"

Tom and Captain Weaver argue back and forth in a classroom, a couple desks are the only things keeping the two men from attacking each other. Tom backed down and turned away from the older man, rubbing at his face vigorously in attempt to whipe away the exhaustion; ever since Hal had landed himself in the makeshift hospital Tom had been awake and by his side every second of the day. When Weaver had told him about the two failed missions and the twelve men that were killed, Tom had all but torn the building apart. Now that Weaver had told him that he was to go out on a mission with a larger scale group that usual, he was also instructed to take Ben.

"He's been with the Skitters so he might be able to predict what they might do!"

"Ben isn't a fighter, he isn't going to be able to shoot a gun, and he sure as hell isn't going to there just to be an extra target! No, you've gone too far this time!"

Tom slammed his fists on a nearby desk and turned around to face his middle son Ben, who smiled up uncertainly at his father.

"How much of that did you here?"  
>"Dad i want to go with you, i want to help."<p>

"No, no no no i'm not letting you go out there after what's happened to you."

"Dad please, just this once i want to be able to do this; i want to be Hal just one time."

Tom froze in his place as regret washed over him, ever since Ben had been rescued he'd taken Hal with him on every mission and left Ben with Matt; the exhasperated look on the middle child's face showed that he wanted that attention.

"I just want to protect you."

"Then let me do this when you are there so i can do it if i'm alone."

Tom sighed before shoving his AK-47 towards his son who took it gratefully, smiling up at him. Weaver watched with shadowed eyes, now unsure of his idea.

"i won't let you down Dad, i promise!"

"I know you won't but i want you to listen to me."

Tom leaned closer to Ben's face and placed his hand on the back of his head.

"You will stay by my side the entire time, if i say duck you duck. If i say run then you run. You don't argue with me about anything, understand?"

"Got it."

Weaver watched on from inside the building as Tom and his team took off on the bikes, Ben holding onto his father's waist to keep from falling off; yeah, he was feeling alot of regret that only worsened when the oldest Mason boy hobbled into the room.

"Were's my Dad?"

"He just went on a mission with your brother."

"HE TOOK BEN! Bu-but we just got him back! We just... we just..."

Hal fell backwards but caught himself on a nearby desk before charging out of the room and outside, Weaver right behind him. The boy pushed past civilians and guards before trying to jump the fence when Weaver caught him around the waist and threw him to the ground. Blood began to restain the bandages covering Hal's torso.

"I have to get out there, i have to make sure that Bens alright!"

"So you are just going to run out there without any wepons and injured, expecting to be able to help in any way? That's why they left you here, to protect you! Don't screw that up!"

"What would you do Captain, if your family was fighting and you were left all alone?"

"I'd stand my ground, i'd stand my ground and heal up so wouldn't be left behind again."

The group ditched their bikes about half a mile down the road before sneaking through the abandoned suberbs, Ben sticking to his father's side as instructed. Every once in a while the group would have to duck behind a car or into the houses because of the Mechs patrolling the area, but mostly the journey towards the hospice was going smoothly. The building was in sight within a minute or two and Tom began giving orders.

"Dai and Ben are coming into the hospice with me, Anthony, Margaret and Jimmy stay here and keep gaurd. Move out."

Dai led the way into the withered building and through the halls, his sawed off shotgun armed and ready. Tom kept glancing back at Ben who figited with the rifle in his hands; a sudden crash from a nearby room caused the men to jump and flee into another room, a Skitter crawled out holding a broken plate in it's hands.

"Ben, Ben come on we have to move."

"Dad, it's going to get me again."

"No it's not now come on, Dai found the drugs that Anne needs."

Tom tried to keep moving as quickly as possible but had to keep stopping to grab Ben, thus making it more and more difficult to get the drugs loaded and back out to the guard team. Two large bags were loaded and on the older men's backs when Ben threw hig gun down and tried to run out of the building, Dai grabbed him arm and pinned him to a wall; his hand over the boy's mouth and tried to muffle his shouts.

"Tom he's not stopping, i think he's having a panic attack."

"What do we do? If he keeps screaming like this then the Skitter will come back and we can't afford that right now, not with all of us out here."

Dai looked at Tom before he jabbed at Ben's pressure point, rendering him unconscious. The boy crashed to the floor as Tom stared at Dai with an incredulous look.

"I couldn't think of any other way."

"So you knock him out?"

"He's quiet and that's all that matters right now."

Hal sat crouched over in his bed, his mind racing over what was going to happen to his little brother; he'd risked everything to get him back and he sure as hell wasn't planning on letting him go without a fight. The sound of motorbikes broke the boy from his trance and as he was about to run outside and greet the team, a pair or hands kept him down on the bed; his eyes met Weaver's.

"They'll both be here soon enough, don't go ripping out your stiches again."

"I'm just nervous."

"You have a right to be."

The sound of footsteps caught both men's attention as Tom can running in cradling Ben's crumpled body; Hal jumped off of his bed and notioned for his father to lay his brother there. When Ben was down he was immediatly by his side, shaking him and tapping his cheek trying to wake him up.

"What happened? Is he alright? Did a Skitter attack?"

"No, we saw one and Ben started to panic; he was so scared of being taken again that he started shouting for help and to get him out. We didn't know what to do besides knock him out, if we were caught in the hospice then we'd all have been dead."

Before Hal could retort, Ben began to stir in the bed and his eyes fluttered open. The first person he saw was his father's and then it all came back to him; how he began shouting and a risk to the mission, shame filled his being as he sat up and put his face in his hands.

"Ben, are you alright?"

"We could have died because of me."

Tom pinched the bridge of his nose in aggrivation, he almost lost his son again and he wakes up blaming himself? Noticing the notion, Ben jumped out of the bed and backed away towards the door.

"Ben?"

"You know what, forget it. I should have never gone on that mission anyways, you know i couldn't handle it, you just fucking knew. That's why you were so against me going in the first place, i'm no Hal and i'm so fucking sorry about that but i can't help it! I'm not fearless or anything like that! I can't handle these situations and i'm fucking sorry that you had to knock me out to finish it! Who gives a fuck about Ben anyways!"

Ben rushed out of the doors of the makeshift hospital and out in the couryard, leaning against a tree for support as tears cascaded down his cheeks and sobs wracked his body. He felt so ashamed, his father and brother were these incredible soldiers and his little brother was working with the science department; all he was to anyone was another harnessed kid that no longer needed saving. He closed his eyes and took a breath, letting a passing breeze calm his frazzled mind. When his eyes reopened, Hal was sitting next him.

"When did you...?"

"You know i was a pretty suckish soldier when i first started."

"Why do i seriously doubt that? Hal, anything even remotely athletic you've always been unstoppable at."

"No dumbass not the athletic part, the psychological. I was scared out of my mind the first couple if times i went out, Dad usually had to drag me out of most situations."

"Really?"

"Yeah man, and since when did you care about us being compared? I thought you liked being nerdy and smart, you sure as hell rubbed it im my face enough times."

"It doesn't matter anymore Hal, bravery and gun skills are all that matter. Dad, he's so disapointed in me Hal, you saw the way he rubbed his nose"

"What does that matter?"

"He used to do the same thing when you flunked a test."

Hal laughed and flopped back into the grass, cringing slightly but smiled up at his little brother and pat his shoulder comfortingly.

"He's not mad at you, he's mad that he put you through that."

"How do you know?"

"Cause he had to explain this to me after i freaked out."

Ben laughed with his brother and listened to him ramble on about how badly he screwed up his first couple of missions, instantly making him feel better.

Tom stood with Weaver and watched his sons laughing together.

"Tom, i need to send your team out again for food."

"I know, but i don't think i want to take Ben out again; not until i teach him to shoot."

"Who do you want to take Hal's place then?"

"I don't want anyone to replce him, we'll just go ourselves."

"Is that really a good idea Tom?"

"You saw what happened today, i just want to protect my boys."


End file.
